


Hatake Pup

by Inkdagger



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adopted Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Help, How do I tag?, Naruto is a Hatake, no beta we die like my Spanish grade, pakkun is best dogo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkdagger/pseuds/Inkdagger
Summary: Time and time again Kakashi would find himself at the monument talking to his ghosts to avoid his demons. Often he would come here; sometimes for fifteen minutes, sometimes for three or four hours, and occasionally - on rare days like this one- for even longer. It was a routine he could find some small comfort in, but he had a feeling that was all about to change.In which Naruto get's adopted, Kakashi learns to cope and I learn how to write
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi's Ninken & Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha 12 & Uzumaki Naruto, hatake kakashi & kakashi's ninkin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The weather was crisp as large fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the warm blue sky. The autumn leaves danced in dull reds and golden oranges while they fell slowly to earth. If this was a story about the Nara’s, we would find our protagonist here, staring up at the heavens and wondering  _ why he of all people  _ had to get saddled with the responsibilities of leading such a large clan. 

_ What a drag…  _

However this story is not about the Nara’s. In all actuality it's about a different clan, a  _ much  _ smaller clan. 

The Hatake clan. 

The lone entirety of said clan (if you could really call it that anymore) was currently kneeling in front of a large carved stone. The sun reflected dully on the polished surface that bore the names of Kohona’s fallen heroes. 

_ ‘Sensei…’  _

The teenaged Anbu knelt there in the soft light of morning. The dew on the grass makes his knees damp, but he doesn’t move, being as still and silent as a statue. The noiseless warrior had run out of words a few hours ago, back when the sun had only begun streaking across the auburn sky. Nightmares had chased him away from sleep, yet again (this had become a regular occurrence starting when he was five and had found his father’s body, Eventually joined by the horrible images and twisted voices of Obito, Rin and Minato-Sensei.  _ You failed us _ ) and having no missions to throw himself into, he had retreated to one of his safe places, the KIA monument. 

Time and time again Kakashi would find himself here, talking to his ghosts to avoid his demons. He would come here often: sometimes for fifteen minutes, sometimes for three or four hours, and occasionally - on rare days like this one- for even longer. 

‘ _ It’s been awhile, I know…”  _

It was one of those infrequent times that the Anbu agent was given off, or, rather, one of those days they had  _ ordered  _ him to ‘take it easy.’ Because running suicide solo missions back to back for months on end barley stoping in between wasn’t considered ‘helthy.’ At least that’s what they had said.

_ ‘But I’m here now…’  _

So after having been  _ ordered  _ to take a week or so off, The legendary sharingan no Kakashi grudgingly complied. Besides, he knew if his old team were still alive that Rin would have chastised him for being so reckless. 

_ ‘I’m not sure how much longer I can take this…’ _

If they were still alive she would have lectured him to be more careful, to which he would have grunted a short reply. Obito most likely would take offence at this and insult him on Rin’s behalf. He knew that then the two of them would get into an argument- slowly escalating and getting more heated by the minute… (at least on Obito's side of it, Kakashi had always been calm and cold) until either Rin bonked them both on the head or Sensei pulled them apart. But.. they weren't still alive so he was reckless. Not like he had anything to come back to if he died out there. 

Besides, if he ever stopped long enough to catch his breath, the past would come out of that little corner of his mind he’d so often box it into. Before he’d know it, the mangled bodies of his family, his precious people would be before him again.

Obito’s body crushed beyond repair… eye socket empty and filled with blood…

Rin with his arm through her chest, his name on her lips….

Sensei and Kushina-nee, lying cold next to the newborn son they’d never get to know

_ ‘This… killing, hatred, death…. It’s a cycle that will never end, right Sensei?’ _

And so now he would throw himself into his missions, taking multiple S and double S ranks... solo. He’d string mission after mission together in hopes that  _ this time  _ it would finally be over, that  _ this time  _ he’d be given the mission he couldn’t complete. That  _ this time _ he’d finally be released from this torture, it would only be fair. 

However life and time isn’t fair, it never was, never had been. 

_ ‘I know I promised you I wouldn’t leave like my father did, but…’  _

Each and every time Kakashi would come back slightly battered, but none the worse for wear, ready to report another perfect success - did they honestly expect anything less?- before taking the next S or double S ranked mission off the stack and hedging back out. 

Hunt, fight, kill, come home, visit Obito, Sensei and Rin, report back (show up late of course), repeat. 

_ ‘I’m not so good at keeping my promises, am I?’  _

It became the habit, the repetition he was able to find some small comfort in. It was one thing that wouldn’t change on him. 

It was time to go now. (not that being late ever stopped him) Hatake Kakashi had received a summons from the Sandaime Hokage ‘requesting’ his presence at the hokage tower over an hour ago. The Hatake had a sneaking suspicion about what was to be asked of him and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but a shinobi doesn’t have feelings so he pushes the thoughts aside. 

It was an exquisitely beautiful day today. Large fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the warm blue sky as the autumn leaves danced in crimson reds and burnt oranges while they fell slowly to earth. The last surviving Hatake slowly rises to his feet, casting one last look at the memorial before heading on his way.

_ ‘But… I swear… I swear I’ll try’ _

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly and leaned back in his chair, the old leather tattered from the many late nights spent mulling over seemingly endless paperwork. The chair had been new when Minato became the yondaime now it was old and tattered (you can still see the ramen stains). Hiruzen couldn’t bring himself to replace it. 

It was an hour and a half later than the arranged time. This wasn’t the first time that had happened, the silver haired anbu's tardiness seemed to be getting progressively worse. It had started out as five minutes, then ten, then half an hour, and now an hour and a half, anytime it wasn’t imperative for him to be on time- he was late. Hiruzen didn’t blame him though, It was understandable, if not a little obnoxious at times. 

Most shinobi had strange ways of coping with the stress and grief that accompanied their chosen profession (His own three students’ um… hobbies were prime examples of this fact) and hadn’t Kakashi coped with more than most shinobi twice his age? It was a wonder he hadn’t snapped completely long ago and finally done away with it all. He really needed to find time to start working out a solution for the anbu, he owed it to his successor to at least keep an eye out for his last remaining student.

But that was a problem for later, for now he needed his top anbu out in the field as soon as possible. 

"Your next mission is a solo, S-ranked  _ covert _ track and rescue. I can not send more than one person on this mission **"** The hokage said. Anbu wolf, having not been born yesterday, easily read inbetween the lines. 

_ ‘The moronic elders on the council don’t want this person rescued, (that or they don’t feel like he or she is worth the manpower) And so I’m the only one he trusts to get the job done on my own and keep my trap shut. Interesting… Wonder who it is...’  _

Anbu Wolf nodded. This was nothing extremely irregular for him, he had done plenty of missions like this in his time. A fair amount that never made (were excluded from ) the records. 

"As you may know there was some... general confusion a week ago.” The sandaime continued.

The Anbu wolf ‘hn-ed’ slightly in acknowledgement; Nearly a week ago someone had left open the Inuzuka kennels and over one hundred and fifty **Untrained** puppies got loose on the village. Multiple young genin and academy students took advantage of this distraction and thus a chain of pranks that would rival that of the great Kushina Uzumaki, were let loose in a mass of paint and glitter. It was all perfectly coordinated, not even all the ambu were immune to effects of the chaos. Tenzo and Gemma's hair were two such casualties. It had taken quite some time to wash the pink glitter out of it.

Gemma’s hair still sparkled.

"During that confusion Uzumaki Naruto went missing, along with one of our newer Jonin **Hashimato Hito -** we have reason to believe that Hito-san betrayed Kohona and has taken the Jinjuriki." 

_ That  _ got the Anbu's attention.  _ Uzumaki Naruto? Sensei’s kid? Sensei’s son had been missing for nearly a  _ week  _ and they were just sending someone out now?? Why hadn’t the orphanage reported it right away?  _

“It is imperative that this mission remains completely under wraps” The hokage stressed. “Here’s your mission scroll with further details. You know what to do.” 

“Hai Hokage-sama!”

The lanky Anbu dipped his head in acknowledgement, accepted the strategically nondescript scroll and disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

The Hokage sighed, eyeing the unending piles of paperwork that refused to submit to his will and  _ just die already, darn it! _

_ I’m really getting too old for this, _ he thought. 

The moon shone brightly through the apartment's window, gently illuminating a solitary ANBU agent pulling the metal arm guards taught. Preparing for the task ahead.

Earlier that day Wolf, after leaving the hokage’s office had taken an almost extreme caution to avoid a notoriously over-enthusiastic green clad jonin. Honestly, Might Guy’s ‘rival senses’ were a border line kekei genki. 

It was frightening. 

After finally making it back to his small apartment, and then read, memorised - courtesy of the sharingan- and burned the scroll using a simple katon jutsu, the remaining student of The Yellow Flash had set out to prepare for his upcoming mission. It did not seem to be anything abnormal from what he was usually assigned. Apart from the fact that it was  _ Sensei's  _ son that was kidnaped. 

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the sealing scroll he was packing food provisions into. 

It appears that some random Jonin, fresh out of a field promotion -  Hito Hashimoto - he reminded himself- had decided to exact his revenge on the ‘demon child’ by kidnapping him. Well, Kidnaping may not be the right word, the woman at the orphanage had practically given Naruto away for free, only too glad to be rid of the demon brat. And somehow no one noticed or reported the absence of the child until nearly a _ week  _ later? 

He shook himself. 

_ ‘Just another mission. Just another citizen. Move on. Don’t get emotional, don’t get attached. If you let your judgement get clouded- it could get you killed- just complete the mission and then sort out your thoughts.’  _

Somehow he didn’t completely believe himself. Pushing his thoughts to the corner of his mind he slipped the sealing scroll he was working on into a hidden pocket and picked up his mask from where it was hanging semi-discarded on the back of a chair. 

Pushing open the large window, he slid out into the starry night. (Making sure to reset the detection seal on the sill, of course.) 

A passerby on his way home from meeting a friend, glanced up arbitrarily at the window of an apartment building and shivered as a swift shadow passed before the cold moon.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Five days after our favorite ANBU left Kohona , our chapter opens: 

We are greeted with skies above a lonely mountain village, crisp blue slowly turning to a honey golden. 

The air is cooling as night once again comes swiftly to the village of Ihona Mura. However, unlike most villages where the presents go to bed early and rise earlier, Ihona Mura is just waking up. 

The night life of this little city is one that would rival a major village, bright fluorescent lights and darkly shaded alley ways illuminate the vivid contrast between the village’s day and night. 

Though the village was small \- home to only about four hundred people, it was constantly full to the brim and bustling with life, due to her main source of income. 

Ihona Mura is not like her other small farming hamlet brothers. Where they merely survived off of farming and fish trade, she thrived. It was to be expected of course if one knew the true nature of this little town. 

__ Her black market was always growing and it’s money was always welcome. The shady men and women who frequented the market often stayed to eat, drink, gamble and do other ...ignominious things, the likes of which are typical for such a place. 

To suffice, the black trade brought people into the village, and the people spent money and the village grew. The locals profited (regardless of the fact they had to pay a tribute to a company of missing-nin for protection) and were quite content despite the …. danger of living near and supporting a growing black market. 

Our gaze falls to rest on our protagonist crouched gargoyle-like on the roof of a medium sized building- a little flower shop to be precise. (Which almost seems out of place here, but the old couple who runs it has enough dirt on everyone for them to stay in business, so we don’t question it)

With all of the casual attentiveness of someone who’s done this a thousand times, the man in the porcelain mask perched high, watches the building located across the, well, sketchy would be the best adjective for the place I guess. Everything about it practically screamed:  _ ‘Come near and we’ll make you bleed’ _

__ It was small and shabby with boarded up windows to complete to look. (And big ugly cussing scrawled across the walls in faded paint. ya’ know, just in case you didn’t feel welcomed before) 

Out of a side door on the building slipped a small fat man in a suit swinging a briefcase back and forth. Walking quickly as one who has an urgent appointment, he set out; bobbing down the street at a brisk pace, more reminiscent of ocean buoy than a man.

Under the porcelain mask, Kakashi’s mismatched eyes narrowed slightly. 

When the fat man enters an alley way to cut down his time, we find our ANBU has vanished from the roof, leaving only empty air and lengthening shadows behind him. 

* * *

The Busted Bottle Bar. 9:00 pm. 

Kaito sighed contentedly. After a long day of hard manual labor in the hot sun, sipping his glass of sake was exactly what he needed; Smiling he watched the chaos that was generally Ihona Mura. 

Kaito was one of the locals here. A farmhand was his official job, though occasionally he ran betting pools for the cage fights that happened once a month in the underground. 

The underground, as it was called, was a series of caves carved into the side of the large mountain that Ihona Mura was nestled in, where most illegal activity took place. Cage fights, and slave auctions happened once a month and the general black market was open every other day.

As it stands, one may find entrance to these caves by asking the right people the right questions. It was one of those things that everybody knows but tells no one…. Unless you pay of course. Which was another thing Kaito profited from. Occasionally. It was an extremely risky business, both sides of the law could easily turn on you. 

Of the current moment the village was extra busy. The end of the month drew near and the slave auction’s first day of sales would start early the next morning. It was to be expected Kaito supposed, the mass of people that flocked to the Underground was astonishing. 

For a little, remote place high up in the mountains, the small village could get ridiculously crowded. The small sunny streets were often packed with various types of people, a fair portion of them foreigners and disreputable sorts, but that was to be expected and accepted if one knew the true nature of the town. 

Sitting in a front corner booth of the main street bar, as was his habit, Kaito watched the various people in the village bustle about and prepare for the upcoming slave auctions. 

One elerdry shopkeeper was marking up his wares, as was common, before the village flooded with inhabitants. The head man’s underling brokering a deal with the missing-nins that kept the village under the radar of the local Dynamo. He watched as other individuals went about their day, young lovers, old warriors, shifty eyed men and women in less than modest clothing, some were doing normal everyday village things, some doing things that were less... honorable, but people in Ihona Mura were quick to turn a blind eye to things, especially if money was offered. It was a blessing and a curse, the villagers lived under. 

Something out of the corner of Kaito’s eye, drew away his thoughts. It was a muscular man, thin and lithe with tattered clothes that at some point were once clean, walking (storming?) towards the small bar. He wasn’t entirely sure why the foreigner drew his attention, but the he did. 

Perhaps it was the way the young man moved, in an angry bustle like he loathed his very existence on this miserable planet. Perhaps it was the way his steps were balanced and swift despite his prominent limp that gave him away as dangerous, someone best avoided. Perhaps it was the small boy being led roughly by the forearm, (The child was very small and looked malnourished and maltreated) Whatever it was about him, it wasn’t good. 

“Hurry up brat ” The young man growled, pushing open the door. The child only ducked and coward in response, covering his head with his small arms in a fetal position as if fearing a blow. 

The chibi might have (at one point) been clean and presentable but as of such very little of him was now. Kaito could hardly imagine what the kid looked like under all the dirt and grime and dried blood, (Goodness, why was there so much dried blood? ). The few physical traits he could make out were not positive ones either. 

The boy was small, pitifully so. Kaito could see the ribs protruding under the skin, where a portion of the shirt was torn. Said shirt was way too large for the small urchin and not in good condition- probably never had been. Three whisker-like scars adorned each of the boy’s cheeks. Kaito frowned, He didn’t want to imagine what sick person had the sadistic mindset to have given such a small kid those scars. 

Kaito wondered whether or not there was a safe way to help out the Chibi (he looked so much alike Kiato’s own little one back home.) 

Perhaps… Maybe if he had enough money he could bring him home to be an extra farm hand? No, he knew he didn’t have enough money, even if he worked three or four side gigs for a month in advance he wouldn’t have enough. Besides, someone else would surely buy the kid tomorrow at the slave auction. There were many people who would have more use for the little boy. Kaito probably could put in a good word for him to his friend who managed the kitchen staff in the large manors, at least the kid could have a warm place to sleep at night then. 

The man with a limp had drug the tiny boy to a corner booth across from where Kaito was sitting and a little back. Watching the pair out of the corner of his eye, Kaito tried to appear only interested in his drink, which was slowly going lukewarm. 

It was pretty easy to guess the reason the two had come to this particular bar - The Busted Bottle wasn’t the most frequented bar in town for nothing. It’s closed lipped owner is only part of what made it so ideal. It’s illegal beverages and pretty ladies are also popular. Despite being a shaggy little dump it was a gold mine for information, and sometimes simply being present at the right time granted one profitable information.

Kaito knew from experience, there had been many a time the right information in the right hands could provide your bread and firewood. 

Xxxx. 

About half an hour and few drinks later, the bar door swung open to make room for a short fat man carrying a leather briefcase and Kaito winced as the cool air hit his face. Soon enough though, the door swung shut again and the fat middle aged man made his way over to a table. 

Actually, Katio noticed, the table the man went over to was also the one where the limping man was sat with the small boy, the fat man (though don’t let him hear you call him that) was probably there to make a deal for the boy on behalf of Zankoku, who was one of the more promante crime lords. Though it made Kaito wonder what was so special about that boy, perhaps he came from a promenade family somewhere, though with all the abuse marks it would have been long awhile since he’d gone missing. 

The two men stood and together moved towards the back of the bar, the small kid in between them, the fat man having passed a key to the one with scars on his face.

It wasn’t hard to deduce where and why they were going: Apart of The Broken Bottle’s appeal was it’s many back (soundproof) rooms one could rent out for private meetings and Zankoku had a permeate one rented out to his name. 

As they rounded the corner, Kaito lost sight of the small party. 

Xxx

Hito walked toward the pre-arranged back room, slightly apprehensive. He hadn’t been a missing-nin for long and didn’t fully understand how the whole thing worked. Well obviously he understood that money and knives and information played a large part in the affairs of the criminal underworld, but he had never had a class in the academy called “how to deflect from konoha and establish dominance as a missing-nin” (for obvious reasons). 

He himself was a pretty good fighter, having graduated as early as the rest of the war time shinobi and had survived mostly by luck, but when the Nine-tails attacked and he lost all but one of his precious people, he had decided revenge was the only course of action. 

‘ _ It’s patriotic really’ _ he thought  _ ‘the lengths someone will go to protect their country even if the hokage won’t recognise it’ _

Warning bells should have started to go off and as a ninja he should have listened to his instincts but the lure of money and the imminent torment of the demon brat (because who knew what would happen if he outright killed the thing) was too tempting and the effects of the liquor was clouding his judgement. Trusting his combat skills to protect him,  Hito cautiously opened the door to the pre-arranged meeting place making sure he was close enough to grab the kid if escape became necessary.

As he stepped inside the back room his instincts suddenly warned him to duck. But he wasn’t fast enough.

He quickly found himself in a vicious choke hold, a Kunai to his throat. 

“Those who betray their country are worse the scum” A voice growed in his ear, low and feral.

“You, Hashimato Hito, are condemned to death under the proven accusations of betrayal by defection from konoha and of kidnaping a minor.” The voice rasped. “I would not try to struggle, I’m not in a mood to deal with your... crap”

Haito didn’t move more than half an inch, slowly tensing every so slightly, about to make an attack, reaching slowly for the Kunai in his belt.

But it was over before it even began. The ANBU soldier anticipated the atack and instantly Hito felt the cold whisper of steel and smelt the thick metallic scent of his own blood as the light went out of his eyes.

Anbu Wolf slowly let the man’s body slump to the floor.

The little child stood stock still just in the doorway, frozen in fear and unsure of what to believe. The mean bad smelling man was dead but who was the new guy with an even scarier face? It was all white and red like a monster!! 

The fat man suddenly ‘Poofed!’ into another monster-man, but this one was wearing some of the fat man’s clothes! Naruto yelped. Where did all these monsters come from?! Did the new one eat the fat man?! Would they eat him?!? That's what the Lady at the orphanage always told him… Naruto shivered, He never wanted to see that meanie-head lady again!! He hoped she’d stuck her toe or something and ne’ve come back! 

The monster bent down towards naruto, putting his hand on naruto’s shoulder. 

“Look at me.” The voice was soft but commanding. Nartuo nodded and looked hesitant into the monster’s white face, and what he saw scared him. The monster had one red eye and one black one!

The monster muttered something as he put his hands in a ninja sign (was the monster a ninja?) and suddenly Naruto’s head felt foggy, like when one’s not awake but not asleep. 

Sleep….

what …..

a good….

idea……

.

.

.

.

The kid slumped over, asleep.

As the Shadow-clone ANBU gently picked him up into his arms, he waited patiently for the regular Kakshi to finish taking care of the body. 

“Kid’s out cold, boss, I also went ahead and erased his memories of the last few moments too”

There came no audible reply from the original ANBU who merely gave a curt nod of acknowledgement.

Working quickly, Wolf sealed the corpse in a body scroll to be taken back to Kohona, analyzed, and confirmed as Hashimato Hito. 

Finished, He slipped the scroll back into its place and took hold of Sensei’s ki- the objective to let his clone slide off the nasty clothes they had taken from the old fat fool earlier. It would be used as evidence, so his clone sealed them into a separate scroll then dismissed itself with hiss of smoke.

As Wolf left, he quietly slipped the barkeep a small pouch of coins- to pay for the darken carpet stains… and his silence. 

The barkeep pocketed the pouch and nodded his thanks. Not giving much more thought to the man with the unconscious child who slipped out into the cold night. If anyone asked, he had never seen them. 

xxx

Kaito came stumble-running out of the bar, silently cursing at his clumsiness. 

He followed after the man who had left with the kid. Just barely noticing them leave, they had slipped out so casually and silently that had not Kiato been watching for the child, he wouldn’t ever noticed them. 

He didn't know why but he had grown quite fond of the small child and he definitely didn't know what he was planning on doing when (if) he caught up to the man but he pursued them anyway. 

What would he do? Leave a word of advice? That would be stupid. Ask to buy the kid? he could but that would be foolish simply by the way the man walked (not to mention he had never seen the scared man with a limp come back out of the back room) and most likely futile but nevertheless, he followed. 

As turned the corner into a side alley where he was expecting to find the man and child, he instead found a dead end, silent and empty. 

Looking up at the dark sky littered with stars Kaito sighed.

_ 'Kid, I hope ya do all right out there' _

* * *

As the sun rose the next day, somewhere in Ihona Mura a fat man woke with no memory of the previous day as he looked down to wonder: 

_ Why the heck am I naked???? _

* * *

  
  



	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pakkun panics, naruto panics, kakashi is a difficult character to write

Shinobi Uzumaki Naruto! The best of the best! The elite of the elite, the most bravest ninja that ever lived! ….Was riding on the back of a big warm animal. Rising and falling with it, in time, between the large fluffy clouds, it was warm. The animal had smooth hard skin and large feathery wings, it’s head was orange with long whiskers and its body was green

It was a girl, her name was Theodora. 

Naruto didn’t know how he knew but he did.  
Theodora was flying swiftly through the purple sky with Naruto clinging to her back. They had to stop the bad guys! And quickly before they hurt his village! 

Come on, come on! He thought anxiously, as they came over the horizon onto a dusty platou. There were houses out to his far right and behind that a tall mountain range. 

He knew the enemy would be here soon and Naruto would be waiting.

A deep low slightly to his left voice slightly started to speak, by the time naruto turned to listen, the voice was informing him that a man named Pakkun would stay with him while the voice scouted ahead. Naruto nodded determinedly, It was a good plan, he wouldn’t have thought of that. 

“Okay Boss,” a tall man to his right appeared. 

Then pointing further out to the horizon, the man started to say: “Hey, he smells a little familiar, is he-?” 

But He never got a chance to finish as dark clouds rolled across the purple sky and a whole army of strange white monsters led by the mean man with a limp, The man held a big stick and smacked against his palm menicingly. The army of white monsters got closer and closer, marching in step and soon they were almost on top of him, all carrying massive sticks, circling around him like the stray dogs he’d seen when they’d found their prey. 

Suddenly Naruto didn’t feel so brave anymore. 

“We don’t want you here, demon brat!” one of the monsters said, before ripping off it's face to become a villager, Naruto recognised as having been beaten by him before. He honestly hadn’t meant to bump into the guy, but the city streets were crowded and there was little room. The man had misinterpreted his actions to be that of a pick-pocket and when he found out it was The Demon, Naruto didn’t have a chance. 

He took a step back to find that he was surrounded by villagers bearing down on him with their sticks and knives, shouting “Kill it! Kill it!” over and over again. 

Turning around frantically Naruto found that both of his allies were gone, unreachable. 

He was all alone. 

‘No!’

He tried to take another step back away from the first villager but he had no room they were all around him, towering over like the giant trees he had passed when the very mean man had taken him  
He started to panic- one of them pushed him and then he was falling-  
Falling  
.  
Falling  
.  
Falling  
.  
Faster  
.  
Falling  
.  
Faster -  
.  
Then, without warning, he hit the water. It came up to meet him, cold and wet. All up in his face and nose. Nudging, invading, against his neck and face- He couldn't breathe.

He was sinking. He thrashed about violently, he couldn’t see anymore, the water grew darker and darker as he went down: 

StayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStay AliveStayAlive- The mantra repeated endlessly in his head, 

He felt a faint pain in his wrist, quick and sharp, he thrashed harder

StayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStayAliveStay AliveStayAlive

“Come on,Wake up already pup”(the voice was familiar somehow) StayAliveStayAliveStayAlive StayAliveStayAliveStayAlive. 

He felt a sharp nip and Naruto’s eyes shot open, gasping for air, StayAliveStayAliveStayAlive  
He rapidly blinks and lets out a big breath (if he calmed down fast enough, the mean man wouldn’t punish him for being weak ….hopefully... )

Wait a minute- where was he? He wasn’t underwater, so someone must have saved him, but who? Where was he? 

“Yo Kid, y ‘lright?” 

That voice...it was familiar somehow, but his head felt all fuzzy (the loud cricket chirpings didn’t help) his wrist throbbed painfully so he couldn’t place it. Was he bleeding? No. Okay, good. He took a shuddering breath closing his eyes tightly, if the man with the limp saw him showing any more signs of weakness, he would definitely beat him again.

Naruto’s wrist still hurt really bad, where the man had cracked it with his massive ….  
Naruto did actually know what the weapon was, all he knew was that it hurt and he needed to avoid it; He winced, prodding the bruised area with his fingers, he was normily a pretty fast healer but this one hadn’t healed yet; He hoped it would soon. 

“Hey! Kid, y ‘lright?” 

Naruto looked up sharply, his eyes falling to rest on …. a Puppy? Was that right? No, don’t be stupid! Puppies don’t talk! No, his head still felt fuzzy, he must be imagining it, was he still ‘sleep? 

“That’s because I’m not a puppy, I’m a dog” Oh.. he hadn’t realized he’d muttered those last words out loud…- Wait, Wait, Wait - What?!?!? 

Pakkun snuffed in annoyance as the runt scrambled backwards a few paces into the trunk of one of the many trees surrounding their current stopping place.  
Kids were strange creatures. (If his past experiences with Kakashi had taught him anything.) How hard was it to believe that he could talk? He was right there in front of the little thing wasn’t he? 

He wondered what had happened to the runt. ‘Kashi rarely did hostage recovery missions, he… wasn’t good with people and they were usually beneath his skill level, so they’d send him elsewhere. So then, why had he been sent on this one? Why this kid? 

The little runt was breathing hard, eyes wide and scared Pakkun noted absently that he smelled faintly of fox... 

Wait a minute… a Fox scent, big blue eyes… 

Then it clicked.

This must be Minato-sensei’s runt. ‘Kashi’s Sensei had ended up matting with the loud fox woman hadn’t he? That would explain a bit- like why the kid was so beaten up (jinjurikis never had it easy) The poor thing probably hadn’t had any positive contact with someone in ages, if the fear and weariness in his eyes was any indication. Oh crud; oh, crud… 

An overwhelming sense of wrongness hits pakkun like a Bull and Uhashi on Catnip. The Kid shouldn’t have to be afraid like this, shouldn’t be used to it. 

“Hey hey hey! Runt, oh crap uh, sorry, um look” Crud. The kid was starting to inch backwards on his hands, oh crud, please don’t start crying. How exactly does one help a crying kid. Crap, whatever you do Pakkun -don’t panic! Breathe, talk to him slowly, come on you’ve dealt with pups like this before.

“Uh, crud, hey kid, look, I promise I won't hurt cha-” Fridge nuggets, Pakkun for the life of him could not imagine what to do. The thin little runt was starting to shake now, little tremors of fear running down his tiny body, eyes wide, filled with tears and oh, oh so scared. What is Pakkun supposed to do? It’s not like he’s dealing with ‘kashi as a runt. Boss, even as a mini human was never this scared ...of ...him...

Then a memory came to Pakkun's mind of Kakashi, hardly older than the runt here, mourning the loss of his father. Backed into a corner of the old blood stained room. Crying, scared and very suddenly all alone in the world. Not sure who to trust or if they all would betray him like his father did, not knowing if Pakkun or Sensei would leave him. Kakashi was scared of pakkun then and only then. What had he done after that?

Snuggled mostly, was the answer that came to mind, simply being there for his kid. But this runt here didn’t trust him enough to let him close. Step one: let him trust you.

Pakkun looked up at the scared child and gently lay down where he was, a few feet away from the runt; Talking slowly and gently to him the whole time. Trying to erase the momentary panic attack. 

“Look runt, see? I’m not gonna hurt cha, I’m just gonna lay over here, see? I only woke you up because I wanted to make sure you were okay. Ya were having a quite some dream a bit ago.” 

That was... putting it mildly to say the least, Pakkun thought, the runt had been crying and thrashing around like he was gonna drown right there in the grass. (Not as bad as Kakashi’s regular nightmares but then again they shouldn’t have to be.) 

Still looking up at the kid from his position in the damp grass and decaying leaves (ugh, how his fur would smell later) he noted that the kid had stopped scrambling backwards though his eyes were still wide and scared, flitting from side to side, looking for something, someone.

Oh. 

Hito. the runt didn’t know that the…. idiot (yeah Pakkun is going to be PG) was dead.  
Of course Boss must have erased the kid’s memories, which honestly shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. Even though the act might appear kind and gentle, which was not kakashi, it was logical, which was. The little runt didn’t need anymore PTSD (shouldn’t have any in the first place). 

Should he say something? He didn’t want to overwhelm the kid, and he was entirely sure he was aloud to tell him (‘kashi’s missions were always iffy in that regard), but he hadn’t been told explicitly that he couldn’t tell the kid, and besides he didn’t have to tell the runt everything, just enough so he would know he’s safe- Boom! Loophole! (Probably)  
Honestly, Pakkun lived for loopholes. 

“Hey kid? I uh, just wanted to tell you that we took care of him; he can't hurt you again.”

He doesn’t need to specify who the ‘he’ was, Pakkun could tell the runt understood with how his frantic searching eyes widened to a point the pug didn’t know was possible.The kid’s huge eyes were disbelieving at first. Pakkun made a move to reassure him. 

Scooting a bit closer to the kid, who thankfully didn’t pull away any further, he looked up at him and said, as gently as he could. 

“I mean it runt, Boss took care of him, that man won’t ever come back.” He didn’t mention why the man wouldn’t ever come back but evidently it worked. The kid’s eyes stopped filtering back and forth around the wooded clearing like a nervous tiger. To which Pakkun was very much relieved. A scared child was one likely to run and while he was (in his very humble opinion) the best ninkin that ever tracked the earth, he really didn’t want to have to hunt down a scared child. So he was relieved. 

… Until the tears started falling. big wet sobs. Pakkun couldn’t tell if the kid was crying from fear or relief, probably both and probably hunger as well considering how gaunt the runt was. But food would have to wait, for now he just needed the pup to calm down and Do Not Hyperventilate Please and Thank you! 

To be honest Pakkun hadn’t been expecting the kid to trust him. Because much like his boss, He wasn’t the best in dealing with people in any type of situation that didn’t end up with a bloody mess. So to say he was surprised when the little kid unexpectedly reached out grabbed him, then proceeded to bury his dirty little face in Pakkun’s fur would be a tiny bit of an understatement. 

Pakkun was quite startled to say the least and thus very proud of himself that he didn’t growl, bite or nip at the kid. (Progress!! Woo!) But regardless of his tiny advancement with the kid and his own social skills, he was still very unsure of what to do. Should he do anything? Maybe if he was human he could rub the kid’s back or something, but he wasn’t human and the kid had his face buried in Pakkun’s fur.  
Oh man, the snot and tears are probably gonna be a nightmare to wash out later, aren't they? But the kid needed it, he probably hadn’t been able to express his emotions safely in quite some time. 

So making an executive decision, Pakkun stayed. He stayed with the kid’s arms nearly crushing his little body, He stayed with the runt’s snot covered face buried in his fur, he stayed with the hot tears running down his back and neck, the shudders and hiccups, tremmors and incomprehensibly garbled words drowned out by loud sobs. 

“It’s okay runt, your okay, your gonna be okay”

xxxxxxxxx

Time passes.  
Pakkun wasn’t sure how long they had been like that but it couldn’t have been longer than half an hour. He’s mildly uncomfortable, the kid’s arms were wrapped tightly around him. 

He can feel the runt’s ribs pressing into his side, they’re more pronounced than they should be. Pakkun can tell this isn’t the result of just the one week the runt’s been missing. 

And the small pug can only think how wrong that is, because as much as Pakkun can understand human fear and hatred, and as much as he logically knows the runt would never have an ‘easy’ life this kid, this pup, should have never been treated like this. And a small seed of anger nestles itself in his mind. However he pushes it away, now is not the time. 

He can hear Kakashi behind him. Can’t see him because of how his face is smashed into the runt’s side, but he can hear him. And smell him, His scent is obvious to Pakkun - he smells like sweat, blood, rain and soldiers pills; (‘Kashi usually smelled like soldier pills.) But most importantly Kakashi smelled familiar, safe, he smelled like pack, like home. 

Which contrasted sharply with the runt, who on the other hand didn’t smell like he had one place to his own for more than two minutes, He smelled like places all over but mostly sweat and the old mostly-faded killing intent of tons of different people intermingled with that of fox. And once again he’s reminded of how wrong it all is. 

“Pakkun, thanks” Kakashi’s voice , deep and quiet. He doesn’t say what entirely for it is that he’s thanking Pakkun but he doesn’t need to. If the little pug is bad with people and kids, not to mention little kids, then Kakashi is even worse.

“Sure Boss, no problem.” 

Pakkun can hear the sound of cloth rustling behind him as ‘kashi rummages through the standard-issue supply kit and pack. He hears the sound of paper unfurling, and then the tell-tail Poof of a summoning scroll, followed by a sharp crinkle as he evidently finds what he was looking for. 

Pakkun smelled rations. Oh so that’s what Kakashi was getting. It made sense, from what pakkun could tell they had been going for quite some time without stopping. 

Pakkun carefully wriggled out from his spot under the Runt’s arms. The kid stirred but didn’t move.

Kakashi reached his hand out and offered Pakkun some dried rations. A rough clump of jerky flavored vaguely like teriyaki. The kind of food to keep your jaw busy for a good half hour. 

The pair are in silence, letting the kid sleep, curled into himself. The runt was absolutely dwarfed by a large and rough but warm blanket thrown awkwardly over his tiny form. 

After all, the last thing Kakashi wanted was for sensei’s kid to freeze to death in the first few hours he had him. To be brutally honest, Kakashi was absolutely terrible with kids, and people in general but especially kids. He had no idea how to take care of them and the last time he had to babysit (not counting nobel escort missions which almost counted) well… He and Obito had hardly escaped with their lives, the little demons….

Hence, the need for Pakkun and Praise the Lord for Pakkun; He had at least some experience with pups in the past (and hadn’t he basically raised Kakashi until Sensei came along?) 

They should probably wake the runt up soon and try to get him to eat. Kakashi is a bit worried about the kid sleeping for too long, he doesn’t want the kid to sleep and never wake up. It’s probably an irrational fear, the kid is most likely stronger than he looks, but Kakashi’s seen too many teammates fall asleep and never wake up from a various number of injuries. But the runt looks so peaceful, nightmares gone for now. Kakashi is almost jealous but emotions are only a hindrance to a shinobi so he ignores it. 

So they let the runt sleep. 

And once again, time passes. 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not to pleased with this but i tried, comment and lemme know what to fix please  
> ~ To God's glory  
> \- inkdagger

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure where i'm going with this or how long it'll last. Please if you have any comment's or suggestions lemme know cause I need 'em and it'll be a huge help and please bear with me as i figure out formatting, coming from Fanfiction.net it's all a little wonky
> 
> Thank you for reading! please let me know what to do better!  
> to God be the Glory,  
> Inkdagger


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